Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
The rift between court-appointed CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and ousted Chair Özgür Özel deepened this week, even as the two crossed paths at a funeral — while notably failing to appear together at an Ashura gathering the same day.
The top business association, TÜSİAD, urged the government to focus on development over mere economic growth. The meeting of the group’s High Advisory Council saw Chair Ömer Aras, who was detained last year after criticism over democracy and the rule of law, carefully avoid those topics this time around.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made a high-profile, two-day visit to Russia, sitting directly across from President Vladimir Putin to signal stable bilateral ties amid speculation that Turkey was distancing itself from Moscow.
Marjane Satrapi's family said she died of sadness brought on by a profound sense of loss. It is difficult to think of Satrapi without the vocabulary of loss. What she drew, again and again, was loss, the loss of childhood, country, language and return. In the end, according to those closest to her, another loss, the love of her life, silenced her.
Despite expectations that early election scenarios would dissolve following the absolute nullity ruling that split the CHP into two, the debate has not ended.
The standoff between court-appointed CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and ousted Chair Özgür Özel's teams continued outside parliament.
NATO has further reinforced the air defense it provides for Turkey, despite the agreement between the US and Iran to end the war.
The government is planning legislation to accelerate court cases, ease access to justice and possibly make radical changes to the appeals system.
The DEM Party is once again pushing the government to take legislative steps advancing the Kurdish peace process, while the government instead asks for concrete steps from the PKK first.
Aselsan will establish a new factory in Eskişehir to start manufacturing ceramic radomes used in missile systems.
Halkbank, the state lender and fourth-largest bank in Turkey by assets, announced that a nine-year-old US criminal case against the bank is getting closer to a complete end. The bank and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York submitted a joint plea to the court on June 10, 2026, requesting the dismissal of all charges.
The central bank kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 37% for the third consecutive meeting on June 11, matching the consensus forecast of economists. The Monetary Policy Committee also held its overnight lending rate at 40% and its borrowing rate at 35.5%. The central bank last altered its policy rate in January with a 100-basis-point cut.